This Valentine’s Day, Love Your Heart

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The Daily Ardmoreite

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Posted Feb. 13, 2013 at 3:00 PM

Posted Feb. 13, 2013 at 3:00 PM

Valentine’s Day—a day to celebrate love in its many forms and the Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline is offering Free Quit Coaching, free patches, free gum or free lozenges. And the Centers For Disease Control is offering free e-card Valentines promoting “smokefree” healthy hearts.

During February, the Carter County Turning Point Tobacco Coalition is raising awareness about tobacco use and the risks for heart disease as well as healthy lifestyle changes that can reduce cardiovascular risks and promote healthy hearts.

“Given that February is dedicated to celebrating love, caring, and heart health, it’s a great time to improve your own heart health or encourage loved ones to improve theirs by quitting smoking,” said Joan White, coalition chairperson.

In Oklahoma about 2,200 cardiovascular disease deaths per year are attributable to smoking according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Oklahoma has a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease than most states because we have higher smoking rates with a ranking of 47th in the U.S. The Surgeon General has concluded that cigarette smoking greatly increases one’s risk for heart disease. Being smoke-free and eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke is important to heart health.

“Quitting smoking could be the best Valentine’s Day present you can give to your family or your loved ones,” said White.

Send a Smoke-Free Valentine by logging onto www.cdc.gov and clicking on a link to send an e-card that promotes a smokefree, healthy heart.